Tomatoes, Neuroses, and Books

I’ve been away from this blog now for a couple months, and I’ve missed it. I still want to change the format but not to one of the preset choices, so I’m currently at a standstill. I need more young, techno-savvy friends, but I like the photo of the cottage I posted and that will suffice for now. We don’t have sparkly lights around the cottage porch at the moment, but we have them elsewhere on the patio. Ricky is always tweaking things in our “compound.” 

We’re in the midst of summer here in Louisiana, but thankfully it’s not yet been unmercifully hot and dry. I’m sure we’ll get a taste of both before summer is done with us. Storm systems rolling in toward Shreveport tend to divide when they get near and hit north, south and east of us.

Gardens seem to be flourishing at the moment. Between the cherry tomatoes that we grow in containers scattered over half of our backyard and our neighbors sharing their large tomatoes with us, we have been in tomato heaven. Luscious BLT’s with crispy bacon, green salads where there is no need to skimp on tomatoes, tomatoes and cottage cheese, Caprese salads, okra and tomatoes, a tomato tart--there are endless possibilities.

Despite being officially retired, I’ve worked some this summer, providing training for the Early Head Start (EHS) that serves infants, toddlers and twos before they attend preschool Head Start. I drew from training modules I'd used in the past and provided an overview of some principles of early learning and teaching. The best part was getting to visit with my former colleagues whom I love. They presented me with the sweetest thank you note and a scented candle. They definitely own a piece of my heart.

I also got to indulge one of my neuroses. I have a penchant for office supplies. When I plan a training or a big project for my neighborhood, I love to organize everything in a three-ring binder when I finish. I get out my label machine and print out labels for dividers, then stand back and admire my handiwork.  It compensates somehow for the total wreck I make of my library during the planning process.

I haven’t been reading as much as usual but I have been accumulating books to read. They are stacked everywhere. I get them from friends, from the Little Free Library, from my library shelves, and I purchased one stack at Half Price Books during a recent trip to Dallas.

At the half way point in the year, I’ve read the following:

•         17 mysteries, mostly Michael Connelly's books featuring Harry Bosch but I’ve come to the end of the road on these. I may need to try a few of Connelly’s other protagonists that I pulled from the LFL.
•      3 contemporary novels
•         3 autobiographies
•         1 non-fiction/natural history
•         1 young adult novel

I’ve partially completed at least a dozen other books. A persistent voice tells me I need to finish what I start, but time flies. I wonder if other retired people find themselves wondering where the hours go each day.